A Guatemalan judge on Thursday sentenced former National Police (NP) officers Hector Roderico Ramirez Rios and Abraham Lancerio Gomez to 40 years in prison for the 1984 forced disappearance of Fernando Garcia, based on evidence found in an abandoned NP archive discovered in 2005. In February, Garcia, a student and union leader, was shot and taken to …

UN Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict Margot Wallstrom on Thursday condemned alleged gang rapes of at least 30 Congolese women who were being deported from neighboring Angola and called for both countries to investigate. A UN official indicated that the alleged victims were among about 150 Congolese deported …

A coalition of 37 public interest groups, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the Alliance for Justice, sent a letter to the Senate Thursday urging it to pass legislation that would allow television coverage of Supreme Court proceedings. The letter argues …

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Friday upheld two of four convictions of Canadian-born media mogul Conrad Black, one for fraud and one for obstruction of justice. The court held that the other two fraud charges must be dismissed after the US Supreme …

Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan who criticize the government are facing increased intimidation, violence and lawsuits, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Friday. HRW criticized the secret investigation into the May killing of journalist Saradasht Osman, who had written articles criticizing the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the …

A spokesperson for China's Municipal Higher People's Court on Friday criticized those responsible for granting the Nobel Peace Prize to dissident Liu Xiaobo. Liu, who was awarded the 2010 Peace Prize, is currently serving an 11-year sentence for subversion of state power. The unnamed spokesperson reinforced China's dedication to the …

The Myanmar Supreme Court on Friday heard the final appeal filed by pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi challenging the extension of her house arrest. The hearing comes two weeks before Suu Kyi's house arrest is scheduled to end, but her lawyers maintain their goal is to prove her innocence. …

President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Sang-Hyun Song, called Thursday on the international community to redouble its efforts to arrest eight suspects sought for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. Of the eight individuals with outstanding arrest warrants are four commanders of the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) [BBC …

The Kenyan Cabinet on Thursday authorized a 3.5 billion shilling expenditure to finance the transition to the country's new constitution. The funds, roughly USD $43 million, are intended to facilitate implementation of the revised charter by the close of the current fiscal year. The new constitution includes numerous checks on presidential authority [JURIST …